Look, we’re not saying we support an increase in the casino tax. But if we were making a list of the reasons it might pass, well, we’d naturally turn to the In Business Las Vegas Book of Business Lists. Wouldn’t you? It’s full of listy-type information.
Anyway, the list that casino companies might be concerned about is the list of highest-paid executives of public companies. And even though the list is from 2005, it’s still pretty interesting. The top 10 only includes one non-gambling industry executive, and in the top 20, only three aren’t involved in the gambling industry somehow.
Even better, the compensation of casino men in the top 20 totals $310.3 million. You’ve got to go all the way down to No. 54, in fact, to find somebody in the gambling, health care, or broadcasting industries who’s not making more than $1 million a year.
Now, we’re not saying that these guys (see the top 10 list below) didn’t earn their money. After all, it takes still, intelligence and business savvy to build really, really nice buildings where suckers go to give you their money on the pretense that they might actually win a giant jackpot. But we can see the argument that may be proffered by the Nevada State Education Association that might go along these lines: These guys can afford a 3-percentage-point increase in their taxes, because there sure as shit are no teachers on this high-paid executives list!
Anyway, here’s the top 10:
1. Frank Fertitta III (CEO, Station Casinos): $42.7 million
2. Bobby Baldwin (CEO and president, MGM Mirage): $38.5 million
3. Bill Boyd (CEO, Boyd Gaming Corp.): $37.9 million
4. Terry Lanni (CEO, MGM Mirage): $31.5 million
5. John Redmond (CEO and president, MGM Grand Resorts): $29.6 million
6. Anthony Marlon (CEO and president, Sierra Health Services): $19.1 million
7. Lorenzo Fertitta (president, Station Casinos): $17.7 million
8. Mark Yoseloff (CEO, Shuffle Master): $14.5 million
9. Ronald Kramer (president, Wynn Resorts): $13.4 million
10. Scott Nielson (executive vice president, chief financial officer, Station Casinos): $12.6 million
Oh, you may be wondering where people such as Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson are on the list. Wynn came in at No. 19 ($6.1 million) and Adelson at No. 28 ($3.7 million).
Now, we’re not saying the teachers union will blurt out "Thirty-one five!" every time Lanni discusses why the initiative to raise the top tier of the gambling tax to 9.75 percent is a bad idea. We’re not suggesting that slogan might go on T-shirts, or protest signs, or anything. But if it did, well, we wouldn’t be at all surprised.
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